Election years can be divisive in America. Arguing with strangers on Twitter or your neighbors about who’s the right fit to lead our country can make even the most optimistic person feel like we’re a nation divided. But sometimes, it’s fun to take a look at some things that we’re in universal agreement on as a country. Like the Moscow Mule. A delicious, ginger beer, vodka and lime mixed drink served up in a copper mug. Everyone loves it. Maybe it’s the copper mug. Maybe it’s the alliteration in the name. Maybe it’s the ginger. Whatever the reason, the Moscow Mule is becoming America’s most popular drink.

We’re reviewing a variety of searches in America over the course of the summer to see what’s popular and what’s not. Our first category? The most searched drink in every state.

We parsed through Google search data for every state over the last year and found out which cocktails each state was searching for the most. We started with a broad list of cocktails, from Bloody Marys to White Russians. In state after state, people were most frequently searching for the Moscow Mule, which probably owes to the drink’s rising popularity and name. After all, a Whiskey Coke pretty much explains itself. But a Moscow Mule? People have to work a little bit to figure out what’s inside that copper mug.

The Most Searched Drink In Every State

In all but 14 states, the Moscow Mule is the most commonly searched for mix drink on Google over the past year. Across the entire nation, “Moscow Mule” was searched over 300,000 times last year, while the second most popular drinks, the Margarita and Bloody Mary, both tallied over 165,000 searches. So how long has the Moscow Mule been on the rise?

The Moscow Mule Is On The Rise

It’s a relatively new phenomenon. The Google Trend data needle doesn’t really move for the Mule until about 2014 and a brief search through some old articles does indicate the drink once again began generating buzz a couple years ago. The Huffington Post declared them “officially back” – though I question whether they had ever truly arrived. Eater.com said they were “having a moment.” Others suggested the Moscow Mule as a perfect drink for the 2014 Olympics, which took place in Sochi, Russia. Maybe the Sochi Olympics weren’t a total disaster.

But since their moment began, Mule momentum has been building. The above chart shows that Margaritas, over the past few years, still maintain a lead in overall national interest. Google Trends don’t show a specific number of searches, rather they reflect overall interest based on a variety of data points. So in America, people are still more interested in Margaritas than they are in Moscow Mules. That being said, the Moscow Mule has increasingly been at the top of mind for more and more Americans thinking about a new way to imbibe.

For now, it seems like the Margarita still holds a special place in the heart of America, but over time, the Margarita’s grip has softened. Searches for the Moscow Mule peak every December, indicating that its becoming the drink of choice for holiday parties nationwide, whereas the Margarita still rules the summer and the Mint Julep captures the curiosity of the nation every year when the horses in Kentucky become the center of attention.

The Mule, Bloody Mary and Margarita make up the three most searched for drinks in America. They’re also three of the seven drinks that were searched for over 100,000 times last year. The rest, in order, were the Mojito, Old Fashioned, Long Island Iced Tea and Mimosa.

Maybe the Moscow Mule isn’t the official drink of America just yet, but if the behavior of the average American on Google is any indication, we’re heading in that direction.

Methodology:

Average search volume was determined using the Google AdWords Keyword Planner on 50 mixed drinks over the past 12 months.

Callie Kollenbroich has been the Operations Coordinator and Content Writer/Editor at Rent College Pads since 2015. When she’s not working, you can find her at home, eating peanut butter out of the jar and bingeing an unhealthy amount of Forensic Files. She’s not as lame as she sounds.

One thought on “The Moscow Mule is the most commonly searched drink in America”

Really nice research…not surprising at all. The questions are 1) how long does it last and what’s trending up (i.e. what’s next)? I think much of the December peak has to do with people search for copper mugs to buy and give as gifts (we see similar peaks around the holiday season…slow build up from Halloween to 3 days before Christmas).